In the years that followed, Hahn travelled and volunteered with Alight, seeing firsthand how the organization’s values align with his own, particularly the focus on being human-centered and doing the doable. “Alight is not trying to solve every problem, but it provides relief where it can. That’s always resonated with me,” he says.
In 2017, Hahn traveled with Alight to Uganda for World Refugee Day, where he visited the Nakivale Refugee Settlement. Despite his understanding of the refugee experience, the trip shifted his perspective. “I still had this deficit mindset, thinking we needed to help these people from a place of sadness,” he admits. But what struck him was the resilience and joy he witnessed among refugees. “There’s so much life in these communities,” he says, laughing as he recalls a moment when refugee children, excited to meet a person of Korean descent for the first time, gleefully performed the Gangnam Style dance for him.
Hahn has learned to appreciate this balance between the pain of displacement and the indomitability of human resilience. He witnessed another example during a trip to Poland in the wake of the war in Ukraine. Working in a transit center set up in an abandoned mall, Hahn noticed two teenagers walking laps around the empty space, evidently out on a date. “It was the same scene you’d see at any mall in the world—just two kids on a date,” he recalls. “Even in the midst of displacement, life continues.”
It’s observations like these that connect Hahn so strongly to Alight’s mission of helping displaced people not just to survive, but to rebuild fulfilling lives. “It’s about seeing the whole person,” he explains. “Displaced people aren’t defined solely by their circumstances. They have skills, dreams, and joys just like everyone else. And that’s what Alight recognizes.”
Hahn’s journey, from a 15-year-old organizing a charity run in Minnesota to a global advocate for displaced people, is an inspiring demonstration of the power of empathy. His grandparents’ legacy of resilience lives on in him, fueling his dedication to making the world a more humane and compassionate place. For Hahn, it’s about more than just helping—it’s about understanding, connecting, and doing the doable to make a difference.
